Facebook has gotten Betty White the gig she never asked for: host of Saturday Night Live. The 88-year-old actress, beloved by generations of TV fans, will host NBC’s late-night veteran May 8. The Mother’s Day episode also will feature a reunion of six former female cast members, most of them moms: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch. SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels says he has “always wanted” White to host. “Years ago, I turned it down three times,” White says. “It’s so New York, and I’m not New York at all. “But my agent said he’d divorce me if I didn’t do it, and I love my agent.” (That agent, Jeff Witjas, says he was only joking, but “it’s perfect timing for her career right now. I said, ‘Do it now, or when you’re 95.’ “) But it wasn’t the legacy of White’s Emmy-winning roles as the cutting happy homemaker Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show or naive Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls that nabbed her the gig. Nor was it the lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild in January, or last year’s role as Ryan Reynolds’ crazy grandma in The Proposal. It was her appearance in a Super Bowl candy commercial in which she’s tackled in the mud by a football player. The spot topped USA TODAY’s Ad Meter poll and lit a fuse on a Facebook campaign, where a “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!” group — started in late December — has attracted nearly half a million members. “It took on a groundswell,” Michaels says, loath to admit he was goaded into casting her. “It isn’t something we would have said no to,” but the campaign “validated that, ‘Oh, that’d be fun.’ … It was the outpouring of affection from fans, and we feel the same way” … Michaels says that as the live show’s oldest host, she can perform “as much as she wants to do” but adds that the physical demands of the show led him to plan the cast reunion, though make no mistake: White is the solo host. She’s flattered and flabbergasted by the attention: “It’s lovely, and at my age it’s certainly unexpected.” And she’s not worried about the workload: “I’ve got so much energy, it’s ridiculous. I love working. My schedule is a feverish one, and I’m used to that.” White has no children of her own, though she counts her golden retriever, Pontiac, as one. But, Michaels says, “she’s the mother of us all in comedy, so it will be a celebration of Betty White.”

Yay!! This is fantastic news!! I think it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone on Earth wanted this to happen … and we all get our wish. I can appreciate that Betty won’t be strained too much and having a bunch of other funny ladies on hand to help just in case sounds like a great idea. I have to say, I had no idea that Betty White has no children … mebbe that is why she is beloved so much … we all feel a kinship with her. I’m just so thrilled that all of this worked out the way it did. May 8!! Finally … an ep of SNL we can REALLY look forward to!!

@Yoka — I have no idea! I don’t even know where I got that idea … whoops!

roxster

I CANNOT FREAKING WAIT!!!! hahaha this is gonna be awesome, although I really cannot stand Rachel Dratch. This has a lot of potential to be absolutely hysterical….don’t let us down Lorne!

nicole

lets just hope the writers give her something to work with!

Kris10

Ooh I hope JT and Andy do a digital short with her!!

krissy

Yay!!!!! I think it is really important to support this episode. Not only is Betty White a freakin treasure, but it is so important to show support for women. SNL has really become a boy’s club recently, and women in comedy and writing are such a HUGE minority.

nicole

@Kris- that would be perfect!

CB

“she’s the mother of us all in comedy, so it will be a celebration of Betty White.” <— made me tear up a little. Yay Betty!

Maybe Lorne Micheal should leave SNL. Half the time he produces crap anyway. Why does it take a half a million people to clue the guy in. It’s not like people are begging for Mary Tyler Moore next, she was in my opinion; a surprise and let Lorne think about it. It tells me he is getting old. I got a better idea have the Stuart Smalley character host, but I bet you could come up with something shittier than.